Do you think the streets near you are dirty, maybe even the dirtiest in New York? Depending on the county you live in, you might be right.
Earlier this year, the New York City Department of Sanitation analyzed how many city streets and sidewalks could be considered “acceptably clean.”
In what may be considered surprising results, all but one county scored above 90% for clean streets. The only exception was the Bronx, where 89.7% of streets were considered clean, meaning more than one in 10 streets were not considered acceptable.
Brooklyn had the second highest number of dirty streets, with 9.8% of streets rated dirty. Overall, DOS found that 93.6% of city streets were “acceptably clean” in January 2023, which is an improvement from December 2022 (92.6%) and much better than January. 2022 (88.5%).
As for the sidewalks, once again the Bronx was in the back, with 93.9% cleanliness. It was the only county below 95%, and as with the streets, the city as a whole had improved from the previous month and year.
The county with the cleanest streets was Staten Island, while Manhattan won the title for cleanest sidewalks, with a whopping 98.9% finding it clean.
In an effort to improve the numbers, the city council will vote on a bill to reduce litter in front of buildings. The proposal would target property owners who do not clean the sidewalks in front of their buildings, as it would significantly extend the time frame in which DOS can issue violations for dirty sidewalks.
Currently, these citations can only be issued for two hours of the day: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and then 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The proposed new law would give sanitation inspectors the ability to issue tickets for dirty sidewalks or gutters during business hours.
The vote comes after the Ministry of Sanitation launched its new anti-litter campaign in the five boroughs, one that aligns with the slogan We NYC recently updated that some New Yorkers have, shall we say, strong feelings about.
NYC presents a new ad campaign
With fun, carefully chosen words, the department tackles the serious behavior that has become commonplace across the city. For example, the target audience for advertisements includes people who leave dog feces on the sidewalk, or those who throw drinking cups, food wrappers, cigarette butts or other standard litter onto the streets and sidewalks of the city. city, instead of throwing them away.
“New Yorkers have had enough litter, enough dirt on our sidewalks, and enough to feel like there’s nothing they can do about it,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “This administration is committed to ‘cleaning things up’ and our strategy is working, but we need everyone to do their part, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”
The launch comes amid a strategic realignment (and increased funding) of the city’s Sanitation Department, which includes cleaning up more than 1,500 long-neglected areas in five boroughs, cracking down on illegal dumping and changing garbage collection schedules, with the first new garbage collection rules in over half a century.
Carolina Ardila updates us from Manhattan.